Looking at the black silhouette and glowing lines that resembled an Earthbound Immortal, Youmi slowed her breathing, calming the small heart that had been racing from Kaiba's shouting.
"That scared me. I thought you'd summoned some kind of anime-only effect… but it's an OCG one."
The screen before her displayed the effect of the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon that Kaiba had Summoned: its Attack increases by the number of Dragon monsters in your Graveyard ×300; when a Spell, Trap, or Monster effect that targets this card is activated, you can activate this effect; negate that effect.
Knowing full well that Youmi's field had low-level Dragonmaids that could transform during the Battle Phase, as well as Dragonmaid House that could target and destroy opposing monsters when other Dragonmaids returned to the hand, making a Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon that couldn't be targeted… it was acceptable, at least.
After all, Kaiba's Extra Deck really didn't seem to have much in the way of monster resistance—a classic, textbook high-ATK punching bag.
Youmi couldn't help but feel a bit emotional that the "evolved strongest Dragon" he mentioned at the start wasn't some kind of "descend the whip of absolute defeat."
"Next, I activate Graceful Charity. I draw three cards from my Deck, then discard two cards from my hand. I discard two Krystal Dragons from my hand."
"Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon's Attack increases by the number of Dragon monsters in my Graveyard ×300. In my Graveyard, I have three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, one Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon that is treated as Blue-Eyes White Dragon, two Krystal Dragon, and one Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon.""
"Therefore, Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon's Attack increases by 2100, reaching 5100! Now then, I enter the Battle Phase!"
"Then I'll use my Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon with 5100 Attack to crush your feeble Dragonmaid House! Shining Burst!"
[Youmi, LP: 4000 → 1900]
Watching Dragonmaid House on Youmi's field get destroyed outright, Jaden, who was watching from the side, cried out, "Whoa! Youmi's ace monster was crushed so easily! And with 5100 Attack, it's already surpassed Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's 4500!"
Principal Sheppard, who at some point had come to stand beside Jaden and Zane, commented, "Although Dragons are synonymous with power, before Blue-Eyes, the absolute symbol of strength, even with strong resource cycling, this Dragonmaid Deck can't really bring its power to bear, can it?"
Professor Crowler, on the other hand, still looked half-asleep and out of the loop, searching around for the student Youmi. "Come to think of it, why haven't I seen student Youmi, y'know? I thought in a situation like this, he'd definitely come to join the excitement…"
Bastion, who was also watching from the side, walked over and explained, "Professor Crowler, didn't you know? Youmi is the legendary Duelist Youmi. The one dueling Seto Kaiba right now is the same Youmi we know."
"Mamma mia…!"
Perhaps the shock was too great, because Professor Crowler's eyes rolled back and he collapsed on the spot.
"Who would've thought that after four years, that legendary Duelist would finally appear again. In that case, those three cards sealed away in the Academy…"
Compared to him, Principal Sheppard, who had already learned the full story from his disciple Zane, thought of the three cards sealed away within the Academy, then shook his head.
"Let's wait until this Duel is over before talking about that."
At the end of the Battle Phase, the two Dragonmaids in Defense Position transformed back into their normal forms, and Dragonmaid Parlor activated her effect, sending one Dragonmaid Ernus from the Deck to the Graveyard.
After Seto Kaiba Set one card, he declared the end of his turn.
Turn.3
Looking at Kaiba's field, Youmi spoke before the Draw Phase.
"Hey, are we really going to keep dueling like this? If you really want to win that badly, I can just scoop this one. If you still want to Duel, I'll definitely accompany you some other day, but at the very least, wait until I change back first. I don't want to expose my identity too much here."
Kaiba showed no intention of heeding Youmi's request. "Hmph↘→… For a Duelist on the battlefield, identity is nothing more than a layer of vanity."
Youmi felt like he was talking without any skin in the game and pointed at Kaiba's nose as she shot back, "If it were you, would you be willing to turn into a Duel Monster in front of a huge crowd, and one that doesn't even match your gender?!"
"If it were Blue-Eyes White Dragon, I wouldn't care at all. Even if Blue-Eyes White Dragon were female, to me it would still just be Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
"And besides, 'for a Duelist on the battlefield, identity is nothing more than a layer of vanity' is something that the 'future' you from four years ago once said. It seems that the 'past' you now is actually less mature."
"Or is it that you're actually scared? Afraid that your next card won't be able to break through my field, and that you'll be defeated by my hand?"
"Hah?"
Veins bulged on her forehead. Youmi felt somewhat irritated, but still forced her anger down and put on a calm expression.
"Haa… I'll say it again, I'm not a dragon addict. If your provocation is only at this level, then I'm sorry, but I'm not so hot-headed as to take the bait~"
Youmi shook the Duel Disk on her arm, then glanced helplessly at Lady Labrynth, who was watching her duel with lovestruck eyes. "I don't care if I can't take this thing off. If you insist on pestering me to the end, then for the sake of not socially dying, I'll just run. Labrynth, let's go."
With that, Youmi turned around, intending to leave.
"How disgraceful. After four years, the once-legendary Duelist can't even face a direct confrontation anymore. Can someone like you still be called a Duelist?
"By the way, my Blue-Eyes Jet Ver.Ultimate has the function to livestream Duels in real time or record them in ultra-high definition.
"If you stop our Duel like this today, I guarantee that within an hour, your identity will be made public to the entire world.
"At that time, the media, who are bound to be extremely curious about your whereabouts over the past four years, will swarm in. Youmi, you wouldn't want—"
Before Kaiba could finish his dead-serious threat, the ground suddenly shook violently. From beneath Youmi's feet all the way to in front of Seto Kaiba, a fissure abruptly tore open across the ground.
With anger laced into her voice, Youmi asked without turning back, "Hey. If I win this Duel, you'll delete all of those records for me. How about it?"
Youmi placed her left hand on the top card of her Deck.
She could feel the pounding of a soul coming from within her Deck.
A blazing fury ignited by being mocked.
"That's fine. As long as you win, I'll not only erase today's video records on my end, but I'll also destroy all the video footage taken by the students over there as well."
"Final Turn. I'll settle this with you this turn—"
Turning back to face Kaiba, Youmi calmly drew a card from her Deck. In stark contrast, a dangerous light flickered within her crimson eyes, so intense that even Kaiba, who had seen countless grand spectacles, couldn't help but swallow.
"I activate the effect of Dragonmaid Changeover in my Graveyard! I return Dragonmaid Parlor on my field to my hand, add this card to my hand, then activate it again! Fusion Summon—"
A virtual image of Dragonmaid Changeover popped up in front of Youmi. With a swing of her left hand, she hurled it like a dart, grazing past the side of Kaiba's face.
"Hmph↘→ Such a shallow tactic is meaningless. I flip face-up my Continuous Trap, Non-Fusion Area!
"Neither player can Fusion Summon. With that, the effect of Dragonmaid Changeover cannot be applied, so just go back to the Graveyard. In an era where everyone uses Fusion, did you really think I wouldn't make any preparations, You↗mi↘?"
The data card that flew past his cheek suddenly shattered, a sign that its effect had failed to resolve.
"Even the Dragonmaid Tidying in your Graveyard can only Special Summon a monster in Defense Position and return it to the hand.
"Are you planning to Normal Summon Chamber Dragonmaid, transform it into Dragonmaid House, and then use Dragonmaid Ernus' effect to increase its Attack? Even then, it still won't surpass Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon's Attack!"
Although the effect of Dragonmaid Changeover failed to apply and Dragonmaid Sheou was not Summoned, Youmi, at the peak of her anger, instead laughed, appearing completely at ease. "Since you know that card isn't something like 'Unbreakable, Invincible, Strongest' or 'Attack Negation', then this is easy. After all, didn't I just say it?
"Final Turn! This turn means I'm finishing you! I Normal Summon Fallen of Albaz!"
Fallen of Albaz, who had previously been schemed against by Lady Labrynth and returned to Youmi's Deck, now appeared on Youmi's field in a textbook superhero landing pose. The single red eye he could open burned with towering fury.
"Let's go, Boss Youmi. Let that ignorant fool witness our power."
Fallen of Albaz declared in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.
"So Duel Monsters can speak with their own will, just like back then…"
Kaiba's brows furrowed a bit as he reviewed the effect of Fallen of Albaz.
"It is indeed a Monster with powerful effects, but as long as Non-Fusion Area remains on the field, even this Fallen of Albaz cannot Fusion Summon. So how exactly do you plan to deal with my Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon?"
With a cold expression, the corner of Youmi's mouth lifted slightly. "Who said anything about Fusion Summoning? I send Fallen of Albaz on my field and Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon to the Graveyard! I Special SummonAlba-Lenatus the Abyss Dragon, from my Extra Deck!"
"Kisamaaaaaaa!!!"
This card had not existed in her Deck before. It appeared in her Extra Deck at this very moment, born from a certain emotional resonance between her and Fallen of Albaz. According to the common Duel rules of this world:
When a Duelist's Deck contents change due to irresistible circumstances, the Duel may continue.
Because of this subtle rule, even a card printed on the spot could still be used.
"But Fusion Summoning has already been sealed, so why is this still possible…"
Although Kaiba was briefly surprised when Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon was dealt with, he immediately understood the reason.
"It's not a Fusion Summon. It's a Special Summon!"
At the same time, Zane's eyes lit up.
"Sending your own specified monster and specified types of monsters from both fields directly to the Graveyard to Special Summon a Fusion Monster without using Polymerization… I never expected the legendary Duel King's Deck to include such a card."
He pulled out Chimeratech Fortress Dragon from his own Deck and continued watching Youmi's Duel.
"I enter the Battle Phase. The two Dragonmaids you failed to clear last turn will now shift into their battle forms. With the power of these 'Dragons', I'll send you on a trip to the underworld. Direct attack."
[Seto Kaiba, LP: 4000 → 1500 → 0]
"Delete all your recordings and data, every last bit of it. As a Duelist, since you lost, accept the wager and own up to it."
Youmi shot Kaiba a sideways glance, then ignored Lady Lab standing nearby and walked straight toward her dorm.
...
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